Writing Samples By: Josh Kaczmarek
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News Release FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Josh Kaczmarek Director of Media Relations 262-914-3363 (daytime), 262-914-3363 (evening) joshkaczmarek5@gmail.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 15, 2013 !! ! !
Tickets for Evita on sale now CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Virginia Theatre opened its box office today for the Champaign-Urbana Theatre Company’s production of Evita. This production of Evita includes musicians and actors from the community and tells the story of Eva Perón. Evita is a treasured rock opera, an extraordinary style of stage performance, with music created by the award-winning composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The show begins
rehearsals on Oct. 17, 2013 and opens on Dec. 12, 2013 at the Virginia Theatre. Evita tells the story of Eva Perón, the second wife of Argentine president Juan Perón. She was born in 1919 and began serving as the first lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. The rock opera follows Eva's early life, rise to power, charity work, and her death. “The cast is thrilled to be doing a rock opera,” said Dale Levenson, the director of Champaign-Urbana Theatre Company’s production of Evita. “It is a different style of show that is very challenging for the actors yet engaging for the audience members. It’s an astounding show that can’t be missed.” The show focuses on Eva Perón and her impact on Argentina. It is titled Evita because that was Spanish language diminutive given to her by her loving Argentine citizens. It shows her on her journey as a fatherless child to ambitious actress to the most (more)
Evita – page 2 powerful woman in Latin America. Evita is a rock opera, which means that the dialogue is mostly sung rather than spoken. The main thing that makes this show different from other operas is that is was composed with a rock tailoring. The music demonstrated throughout the show has a unifying sense of style to display that the whole opera itself is a chronological story that begins with her struggles and drive for success to the rest of her life as first lady. “I am so excited to be playing the role of Eva,” said Laura Jensen. “She is such an inspiration to women everywhere. Plus, we’ve never done a rock score before and it will be fun to show the different things our theatre company can do.” Jensen played the role of Cunégonde in Candide in last year’s production. The cast also includes Harold Stein as Che and Jack Wedgewood as Perón; they are utilizing the skill of the University Chamber Ensemble for this production as well. The composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber, won many awards for several of the musicals he has composed. He won Best Original Song and Best Original Score for this rock opera alone. He composed the music for Whistle Down the Wind, Jesus Christ Superstar, and The Phantom of the Opera. Tickets are on sale now. They can be purchased for $15 at the Virginia Theatre box office every day except Monday between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. The tickets can also be purchased online at www.CUTC.org or over the phone by calling 217-344-3884. The show opens on Dec. 12, 2014 and closes the following weekend. Shows on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday all begin at 8 p.m. and matinees on Saturday and Sunday begin at 2:30 p.m. - end -
News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 14, 2014 ! ! !
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Josh Kaczmarek Director of Media Relations 262-914-3363 (daytime), 262-914-3363 (evening) joshkaczmarek5@gmail.com
! David S. Fullerton Foundation launches new national program CHICAGO – Erin Shay, the president of the David S. Fullerton Foundation in
Chicago, announced today the launch of a new program called Students Care. It is a program that focuses on funding college student organizations around the nation. The Students United for Healthy Eating organization here at Columbia College Chicago inspired the launch of Students Care because of its success. Even First Lady Michelle Obama came to one of the barbeques while she was visiting throughout the summer. This organization will inspire students to build social service programs to make the city of Chicago and this nation better. Students United for Healthy Eating, the organization at Columbia College Chicago, inspired the Students Care program based on the amount of people they reached and the amount of success they had while discussing these troubling issues that Chicago neighborhoods face everyday. They hosted barbeques that gained attention across the city. Organizations like Peapod, Weber Grills, Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants, Cargill, and Jennings & Associates sponsored barbeques throughout the city “I am so thrilled to see that the students of this city care about their community. I was so inspired by them that I thought it would be able to inspire other people across the (more)
New Program Announcement – page 2 country to make a difference in their communities,” said Erin Shay, of the David S. Fullerton Foundation. “I couldn’t be prouder of this city.” The Fullerton Foundation is planning on giving $1 million to college student organizations around the country. They will be giving $10,000 to 100 different organizations to help further their progress to make a positive impact on the nation as a whole. This money will help provide start-up funds for social service programs. “The experiences that I gained from being in an organization like this will help me for the rest of my professional career,” stated Henry Brubaker, the president of the Students United for Healthy Eating. “All of the members feel that we have learned so much that we will be able to use the information to help further ourselves so that we can further our community.” Michelle Obama went to one of the barbeques in the summer and seemed to enjoy it very much. This organization was focusing on something she believes in: healthy eating, which connects to her “Let’s Move” campaign. It was great to see her out and supporting the Chicago community. In order to be considered for the program, an application can be found on www.fullertonfoundation.org and must be submitted no later than Nov. 15. Decisions will be made by Dec. 15 and grants will be distributed throughout January 2015. The David S. Fullerton Foundation is a private foundation in Chicago that has a benefaction of over $1 billion to distribute grants for medical research through the city. The foundation is also focused on allocating grants to smaller, nonprofit organizations as well as larger organizations. - end -
Teachers Union Exposed Position Paper By: Josh Kaczmarek
Abolish Teacher Tenure to Help the Students Succeed The teachers of America were known for their determination to help students succeed. Teacher tenure was created to reward those specific types of teachers; it was an award to help show that the teachers’ hard work had paid off. Teachers Union Exposed, a nonprofit organization to help show Americans the truth about today's teachers unions, located in Washington D.C., is against teacher tenure because it is no longer effective in the means that it now protects unqualified teachers; therefore, it should be nationally abolished. Originally, tenure was created to guarantee that teachers would not be fired for any wrong reason. In Faculty Grassroots Leadership: Making the Invisible Visible, written by Jaime Lester of George Mason University, it is said that tenure is used “as a tool to protect faculty from backlash and resistance for grassroots efforts;” this is a great reason to have teacher tenure. Unfortunately, tenure is now given to almost every teacher in K-12 schools across the United States, which is why teacher tenure is no longer protecting good teachers and needs to be eradicated. Teacher tenure is no longer hard to achieve. In the Criteria for Promotion and Tenure from Purdue University, it states “tenure is based upon the criteria for satisfactory performance in teaching.” This helps show that tenure should be eliminated because professors do not need to get an excellent rating to be awarded tenure; they only have to do the basic and reasonable amount over a period of time to achieve and maintain tenure. Teachers do not feel they need to work hard because they have already received tenure. Patrick McGuinn reported that there is almost no focus on whether or not a tenured teacher is (more)
Abolish Teacher Tenure – page 2 successful at his/her job in his 2010 Center for American Progress article, “Ringing the Bell for K-12 Teacher Tenure Reform.” He stated that the only focus is on “the issues of teacher recruitment, preparation, compensation, and distribution,” and that they no longer care about whether or not a teacher is efficient at successfully teaching students. Tenure does not help and can actually hurt the students of this country. In Academic Tenure and Academic Freedom, by Ralph S. Brown Jr. from Yale Law School, tenure was referred to as an “inefficient system.” He states that with tenure comes “academic freedom,” which means that professors and teachers are able to teach however they want. This sometimes is a good thing because teachers often focus on what is important in the course. Unfortunately, many tenured teachers use academic freedom to slack off and teach their students in the way that is easiest for them because they know that they will be protected by the tenure they have received; this ultimately hurts the students because they do not learn everything they could have. When underperforming teachers are protected by tenure, it makes it hard for them to be let go. In Marcus Winters’s article, “Challenging Tenure in D.C.” published on Nov. 5, 2008 in The Washington Times, he states that after receiving tenure, many teachers feel as though they do not need to work hard to maintain a high rate of successful students. He said that if a teacher should be fired, tenure is what is protecting them; he refers to it as “the most powerful tool stopping [administrators] from removing such bad teachers.” Tenure was created to help teachers and professors; unfortunately, it has changed over time to protect lazy staff members. After so many red flags have been raised, one would think that this nation would abolish teacher tenure to make sure that our students become successful. (end)
News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 23, 2014 !! ! !
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Josh Kaczmarek Director of Media Relations 262-914-3363 (daytime), 262-697-8688 (evening) joshkaczmarek5@gmail.com
Columbia College Chicago organization promotes healthy eating CHICAGO – Students United for Healthy Eating hosted a barbeque featuring healthy foods in Mary Richardson Jones Park today for residents of Chicago. The student association promoted healthy eating and partnered with local businesses to help gain attention to food deserts and the health risks that are associated with them. They were very inspired by Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign to get healthy. They want to host more barbeques to promote issues but need more sponsors so they have funds to host the barbeques. The student organization partnered with Peapod and Weber Grills to host the first of a series of neighborhood barbeques. They will be partnering with Peapod and Weber Grills to host a series of neighborhood barbeques throughout the autumn season. They will be providing healthy food choices like fresh fruit, vegetables, lean meats, and fish. “The outcome was great,” said Henry Brubaker, the president of Students United for Healthy Eating. “Our sponsors were so helpful and we can’t wait to get more help from the nearby businesses in the area.” A food desert is an area where affordable and healthy food is hard to acquire. In a city like Chicago, it is very easy to buy from fast food restaurants and convenience stores that sell junk food. In order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, one cannot rely too much on fast food and junk food. This has become more of an issue since the Dominick’s chain closed its stores. The United States Department of Agriculture states that there are many links to poor health for residents in food deserts. The research showed that with the healthy choices diminishing, residents are forced to live an unhealthy lifestyle. This is why Brubaker and Students United for Healthy Eating think that it is important to spread awareness about food deserts and the long-term effects they have on the society. “We were so inspired by Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign,” Brubaker said. “We know so many different people from Chicago that are suffering because of food deserts, so we decided that it was important to promote this problem.” This organization is planning on having a barbeque every year but is struggling to do so because of insufficient funds. They are hoping to get support from the surrounding businesses throughout the Chicago area. If more sponsors are willing to help, they will be able to reach a much bigger audience and spread the word about food deserts and the effect it has on residents and the nation as a whole. Brubaker is extremely dedicated to his work in this organization. “We are very proud of the progress that we’ve made,” said Brubaker. “We are happy that Columbia College Chicago is allowing us to address this situation.” Columbia College Chicago is immensely dedicated to helping the community, which is why this is one of the leading programs there.
Josh Kaczmarek PR Writing I Spring 2014 Josh Kaczmarek Student at Columbia College Chicago Josh Kaczmarek is a student at Columbia College Chicago and expects to graduate after the Spring Semester of 2015. Kaczmarek is a dedicated, hard-working young man who is searching for a career in the entertainment side of Public Relations. He’s always been interested in music and movies and was involved in musical theatre throughout his academic career in high school. Kaczmarek is a Marketing Communications major with a concentration in Public Relations and a minor is Management. He is presently considering additional internships or job opportunities in his field. His goal is to gain more experience in the professional world before graduating, which will allow him to have more of an advantage when he enters the workforce. In addition, Kaczmarek works at the Department of Development, an area that focuses on the growth and expansion of Columbia College Chicago. He also works at Ann Taylor Factory Store, Cold Stone Creamery, and Bath & Body Works during his breaks while visiting his hometown in Kenosha, Wis. All these jobs include various responsibilities that consist of communicating with clients and interacting with customers who have questions or complaints. Kaczmarek has proven throughout the years at all of his jobs that he also has strong leadership and social skills. Musical theatre is what helped him break out of his shell. He found strength and courage in theatre which he knew would help him strive in the professional world. He has established himself as a leader and communicator, which will help him thrive in the world of Public Relations. Kaczmarek attended Mary D. Bradford High School in Kenosha. He was on the academic honor roll and received an honors diploma all while taking advanced placement courses and participating in musical theatre. He attended Ripon College for his first year, and then transferred to UW-Parkside for his sophomore year of college. He then transferred to Columbia College Chicago. Kaczmarek grew up in Kenosha, Wis. He now lives in a Lincoln Park apartment with his roommate. He is looking forward to completing his academic requirements and competing for a job opportunity with a Public Relations firm that deals with the entertainment industry. April 2014
Contact: Josh Kaczmarek, student Phone: 262-914-3363, Evening: 262-914-3363 Email: joshua.kaczmarek@loop.colum.edu Begin April 18 End April 25 30 SECOND PSA: ABOLISH TEACHER TENURE ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT YOUR CHILDREN’S ACADEMIC CAREER AND THEIR SUCCESS AFTER SCHOOLING? OFTEN, IT IS NOT THE STUDENTS FAULT IF THEY ARE NOT PROSPERING. THERE ARE TEACHERS IN SCHOOLS THAT HAVE RECEIVED A FORM OF JOB SECURITY THAT PREVENTS THEM FROM GETTING FIRED, EVEN IF THEIR STUDENTS ARE NOT SHOWING SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT. THIS JOB SECURITY IS CALLED TEACHER TENURE. WE NEED YOUR HELP TO REMOVE TENURE FROM THE EDUCATION SYSTEM. TO FIND OUT MORE, PLEASE VISIT TEACHERSUNION-EXPOSED-DOT-COM. - end BROADCAST NEWS RELEASE: K.U.S.D. HOLDS DISCUSSION ON THE IMPORTANCE OF A GOOD TEACHER Dr. Joseph Mangi, Superintendent of the Kenosha Unified School District will be holding a meeting on April 30, 2014 to connect with current and former students and their family members to discuss the importance of a good teacher and how it helps children thrive. Students and family members will be open to attend the meeting to discuss what characteristics they feel are necessary in a good teacher. This meeting is about the expectations of a student and the student’s parents, not the expectations of a teacher. Dr. Mangi will be available to talk throughout the entire meeting and is willing to set up follow up appointments to anyone that wishes to talk more about the subject. The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. and end at 9:30 p.m on April 30, 2014 in the Bradford High School auditorium. For more information, contact Bradford High School at 262-359-6200 or go online to www.kusd.edu. - end -
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News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 23, 2014 !! !
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Josh Kaczmarek 262-914-3363 (daytime), 262-697-8688 (evening) joshkaczmarek5@gmail.com
HONEY, WHERE ARE YOU? Bee board formed to find missing honeybees. Häagen-Dazs announced today their formation of the Bee Board. It is a board consisted of scientists from Pennsylvania State University (PSU) and a University of California, Davis (UCD) to help further the research of missing honeybees. "We are so proud to be a part of such an issue," stated Diane McIntyre, Senior Public Relations Manager for Häagen-Dazs. "This is an issue that needs to be recognized nation wide." The board was created to help research more about the vanishing honeybees. The scientists were brought in to ensure that the research is authentic and factual. HäagenDazs also brought in two beekeepers to help show the difficulties beekeepers encounter and face on a normal basis. Each board member will serve as media spokespeople to deliver campaign messages related to their field of study and expertise. "It is so nice of Häagen-Dazs to join the cause to find out more about the disappearing honey bees," stated Diana Cox!Foster, head of the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) Working Group. "Seeing an organization recognize the importance of the honey bees is great because it helps the public see that this is a crisis and that bees are necessary for our everyday life." The CCD also focuses on finding the reason for the missing honeybees and also raises awareness to the issue as well. Häagen-Dazs began as a small neighborhood company based out of the Bronx in New York City in the 1920s. Founder, Reuben Mattus expanded the company with his wife in 1961 to capture the feeling of old-world traditions, craftsmanship, natural ingredients, and quality production. For more information, please visit helpthehoneybees.com or Häagen!Dazs' website. (end)